Stefan Kostka received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and served on the faculties of The Eastman School of Music and the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to Materials and Techniques of Post-Tonal Music, he is the author (with Roger Graybill) of Anthology of Music for Analysis and (with Dorothy Payne) of Tonal Harmony, With an Introduction to Twentieth Century Music. Kostka is now a University of Texas Professor Emeritus, and resides in northwest Massachusetts.

本书分析了西方传统调性的衰微、自由无调性兴起的情况，从旋律、和声、节奏、曲式、音色与织体等方面介绍了西方20世纪音乐的发展、演化过程，涉及序列主义几个阶段的情况，还探讨了电子音乐、简约主义和新浪漫主义音乐的现象，同时也谈到机遇、拼贴等“边缘音乐”。本书适合于音乐院校的教学，也适合于专业研究者参考。对有一定音乐理论基础的读者来说，本书也是关于西方20世纪专业音乐入门的好读物。